The Joker is Wild

"The Most Electric Performance That Ever Shocked and Fascinated an Audience!"

1957 2h 6m EN

🙌

8.1

BANGER

★8.1TMDB · 155

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A Prohibition-era nightclub crooner has his career is cut short when his throat is slashed by a mob boss.

“The Most Electric Performance That Ever Shocked and Fascinated an Audience!”

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Cast

Frank Sinatra
Joe E. Lewis
Mitzi Gaynor
Martha Stewart
Jeanne Crain
Letty Page
Eddie Albert
Austin Mack
Beverly Garland
Cassie Mack
Jackie Coogan
Swifty Morgan
Barry Kelley
Hugh McCarthy
Ted de Corsia
Georgie Parker

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Charles Vidor
Writers: Oscar Saul
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 6

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 6

ERA

Did you know

69 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Charles Vidor, shot by Daniel L. Fapp. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 6

CAST

Did you know

Frank Sinatra and Mitzi Gaynor and Jeanne Crain carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 6

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The Most Electric Performance That Ever Shocked and Fascinated an Audience!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 6

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0050569 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Charles Vidor directs. Daniel L. Fapp behind the camera. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
269 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Charles Vidor, shot by Daniel L. Fapp. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Frank Sinatra and Mitzi Gaynor and Jeanne Crain carry the top of the cast.
5Marketing tagline: "The Most Electric Performance That Ever Shocked and Fascinated an Audience!".
6IMDB entry: tt0050569 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Daniel L. Fapp
Runtime: 126 min · 2h 6m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,400,000
Box office: $3,000,000
Return: 125% of budget
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Joker is Wild (1957)

Also by

Charles Vidor

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-06-08
★ 7/10
This is certainly one of my favourite Frank Sinatra performances not least because his “Joe” character actually gets to do some crooning. Indeed, it’s how this charmer makes his living, along with pianist “Austin” (Eddie Albert) singing in a nightclub. When he gets a better offer though, his boss makes it clear that moving isn’t an option. When he defies him, well surgery ensues and a period in the wilderness of New York follows with his friends, including “Austin”, unaware of his location. Then a chance encounter sets in train a bit of a reconciliation as he discovers he has a knack for patter that gets the audiences laughing. Gradually, he gets his confidence back and falls in love with “Letty” (Jeanne Crain) and all looks set fair. Success, as they say, is a two-headed beast though and with his fame, celebrity and a wartime entertainment posting, comes an addiction to gambling and to the bottle, too. With a self-destructive path stretching out before him, maybe it’s only “Martha” (Mitzi Gaynor), one of his dancers, who can stop his implosion - but that’s a very big maybe! Sinatra is at his most natural here, as is Albert, when they are on the stage and those scenes give us a good excuse to listen to the likes of “All the Way” and “I Cried for You” as well as a small dose of cyclorama-shaded Bing Crosby too! The dialogue for the stand up routines is a bit dated now, but still has some natural pith to it, especially when being heckled - “Last time I saw a mouth like that, it had a hook in it!”. The story ends quite effectively in a way that nowadays might scream sequel but then just meant that life goes on, and as an observation of the flaws of a man faced with trauma, drama and success Sinatra delivers well whilst eliciting a little sympathy too.

Production companies